The present invention relates to an improved fixing structure for power supplies, more particularly to a fixing structure for safely protecting a detachable power supply.
To prevent users from unplugging a power supply by mistake or inappropriately under the normal operation of the power supply, the existing power supplies include a fixing structure to match with a casing for plugging and unplugging; after a power supply is plugged into a casing, the fixing structure on the power supply will be latched with the casing. Unless the latch relationship of the fixing structure is released, we are unable to unplug the power supply and thus attaining the effect of safety protection.
Please refer to FIG. 1 for the R.O.C. new design patent (Publication U.S. Pat. No. D445761) entitled xe2x80x9cDetachable Power Supplyxe2x80x9d. The fixing structure of the power supply according to the design patent comprises a fixing plate extended from one side, and the fixing plate has a securing member; another fixing plate is extended outward from the casing at a position corresponding to the fixing plate. When a user pushes a power supply into the casing, the securing element is rotated into the securing hole on the fixing plate to define a fixing relationship. However, such design requires a fixing plate extended from the power supply and the casing for the connection, which is a waste of limited available space.
To overcome the shortcoming of the previous design, the R.O.C. new design patent (Publication U.S. Pat. No. D4640275) entitled xe2x80x9c1U Horizontal Tolerance Power Supplyxe2x80x9d disclosed a power supply having an elastic fixing plate which is corresponsive to a fixing hole on a protrusion of the casing, and such design does not require an additional fixing plate and can effectively save space. However, since the elastic fixing plate only requires a small force to release the latch relationship of the power supply, therefore users may easily detach the power supply by mistake particularly when it is used together with a handle. Therefore, such design has a safety protection effect poorer than the previous securing design by means of the securing element.
The primary objective of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problems and eliminate the drawbacks of cited prior art. The present invention combines the advantages of the previous two designs to provide a fixing structure that does not require additional space for the fixing plate but provides a safety protection effect by a securing element. An accommodating area is defined on a power supply, and the power supply has a fixing hole at a position corresponding to the casing for accommodating the power supply and defining a fixing condition when the power supply is pushed into the casing. A limit hole is disposed on the power supply corresponding to a fixing member for restricting the displacement of the fixing structure. These components constitute a fixing structure installable inside the power supply without requiring additional installation space, and attain the safety effects for securing the fixing structure and restricting the fixing member.